June 9, 2023

Today's Reading: 

Daily Lectionary: Song of Solomon 6:4-7:5, John 6:22-40

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. C.S. Lewis once observed that, “God likes matter; after all, He created it.” We see this truth throughout Scripture as well. Time and time again, God takes the stuff of His creation and uses it to bless and be with His people. God puts a rainbow in the sky to remind all creation of His promise to never again flood the earth. God takes water from the rock and quenches Israel’s  thirst. God sends oil and flour to the widow of Zarephath to give her and her son daily bread. 

God cares for creation, and we His creatures, so much in fact, that he took on human flesh for us. God the Creator of all became a creature to save us all. God the giver of life and daily bread became man who would eat and drink with sinners. God, who feeds and cares for all creation, comes in the flesh to be the very bread of life. 

As the crowds gathered around Jesus in John 6, He fed them with daily bread for their stomachs and the daily bread of His Word and promise for their body and soul. Once again God was taking the stuff of His creation and using it to bless and be with His people. 

Jesus does the same thing for us when he institutes the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday. Jesus takes the bread and gives us His body. Jesus takes the cup of wine and gives us His blood. Simple, ordinary, earthly gifts and yet heavenly, holy, sacred, and life-giving gifts full of forgiveness in Jesus’ body and blood.

When our Lord gathers us in His house around His table and gives us His gifts, the words of Jesus in John 6 continue to ring in our ears. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” When we approach and kneel before our Lord’s table we hold, touch, taste, and see Jesus the bread of life. When we drink the cup of the new testament in His blood we are forgiven and given to drink from the true fountain of life. When we are gathered by our Lord around His table,,like the crowds in John 6, we receive Jesus who is the bread of life given for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, the fountain and source of all goodness, who in loving-kindness sent Your only-begotten Son into the flesh, we thank You that for His sake You have given us pardon and peace in this sacrament, and we ask You not to forsake Your children but always to rule our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may be enabled constantly to serve You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Post-Communion Collect)

-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.